Teen Magicians - People Not Taking Us Seriously

Aug 23, 2009
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hey im ian and i am 13, i have been doing magic for 2 years. i am not saying i am the best magician ever, but good enough to amaze. i dont know if you guys who are young have this problem, but adults tend to have this thought in their head that kids trying to show them a magic trick are going to show them one of those lame mathmatical tricks, or overall suck. lots of times people will not want to watch because of these reasons. do you have these problems?
 
Sep 10, 2008
915
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QLD, AUS
you'll even get other teens patronising you.
prove them wrong. They'll humor you, and watch a trick, but if you really fool them, then they'll start taking you seriously
 

James Wise Magic

Elite Member
Dec 28, 2007
1,021
13
Then obviously you are doing something wrong. I have never had this problem with adults.

When I started magic when I was 14, within the first month, I was getting respect from adults. (that's probably because I started learning intermediate tricks and skipped the beginner stuff)lol
Anyways, at first adults may think you may be doing a lame mathematical trick but prove them wrong, and if you still aren't gaining their respect, then obviously you're still doing something wrong.
 
Oct 18, 2008
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www.youtube.com
It just comes down to whether you are performing tricks that actually amaze or tricks that adults expect kids to do. You also need to carry yourself like someone who knows what they are doing and not someone that just started.
 
Jul 13, 2009
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= (

Mathematical tricks aren't lame.

In answer your question though, no I do not have any of those problems. Nor did I have those problems back in the day. 6-7 years ago.
 
Sep 8, 2009
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Nolensville,TN
i hate that problem anytime i preform for random people at the mall or something but i usually go to a group of people and if im outside, i do sinful by wayne houchin, Then i get their respect as a magician even though i'll probably never see them again. They don't even care that I completely waste their soda
 
Oct 5, 2008
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New York
If you know they won't take you seriously before you ask them to see a trick, do some flourishing to capture their attention. Then they'll know that you know what you're doing.
 
May 9, 2008
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Don't worry, people generally don't take teens seriously anyways, regardless if you're a magician or not. When you get a little older, you'll earn more respect. For now, keep performing, keep growing you skills.
 
Feb 27, 2008
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Grand prairie TX
Most of the time its probably because you,as a teenager,come off as if your going to show a cute little trick.
Most people dont know how to command presence.
The problem is not exclusive to teenagers. Ive seen people in their 20's who are shrugged off the same way. David Blaine may just wear jeans and a T-shirt but his presence shakes you. And just as much when he was a kid(teen) performing.
 
Nov 4, 2009
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I think every teenager has this problem with magic.
If I can tell that they're just humoring me, I will humor them. Show them the less-than-remarkable trick that they're expecting. And then smack them in the face with a hard-hitting visual effect.

I've never had this problem with the same person twice, though.
 
Sep 4, 2009
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I've nevery really had this problem much with adults (im 14 yeas old), its mostly people my age and a little older. But, show them something quick, like prophet, or panic. Thats real-quick, and if you can get the $100 bills for prophet, they will definately take you seriously.

Also, learn audience management. If it's just that they don't take you seriously, you can easily prove that your good (and i assume you are, becasue your on theory11, that means you have a good concept of mgic). But if they try to figure out your tricks and scream them out thats a differnt story. If that's the case, search the forums for answers, becasue there are plenty of posts on that.
 
Mar 7, 2009
204
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Huntington, WV
I had this problem when I very first started, cause i would show my mom something, and she always told me how i did it or something. but now, people respect me (mostly cause i think many think im a demon).
 
Sep 1, 2007
230
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Cleveland, Ohio
hey im ian and i am 13, i have been doing magic for 2 years. i am not saying i am the best magician ever, but good enough to amaze. i dont know if you guys who are young have this problem, but adults tend to have this thought in their head that kids trying to show them a magic trick are going to show them one of those lame mathmatical tricks, or overall suck. lots of times people will not want to watch because of these reasons. do you have these problems?

Many of us have dealt with this at a young age. The best advice I can give you from experience would be to sneak magic up on them. Paul Harris says it very well in his Reel Magic interview. Just wait for the right moment and show someone something. Dont announce as a magic trick or anything, just do something amazing. Not only will they not have a chance to patronize you, but the effect will surprise them that much more because they werent expecting it. Then, if you do this sort of thing enough times, people will talk and basically build your reputation for you. Give it a shot and see how it works for you.
 
Jun 12, 2009
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Hmm well this hasnt seemed to happen to me. I first started learning from a friend around 2 years ago and never had problems with any of this. In fact adults were always asking me to show them a new trick. So this shouldnt really be happening, you should just show them one of your magic tricks.
 
Jun 29, 2008
59
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Doesn't happen to me either... I just do a basic ACR to start off and warm them up and they respond well for some reason. Then knock their socks off.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
I'll give my opinion coming from someone who is older (31). Most of the time, teens in general, screw around, goof around, dress ridiculous, are loud and obnoxious, do not show respect towards adults, and are misunderstood by adults, etc. You are not even given a chance. People my age or older do not want to be bothered by them let alone sit and watch them fumble through a magic effect that they probably learned on Youtube the night before. Take it as you will, but that describes a good number of young wannabee magicians. They purchase the effect from the local store and within two hours are out at the mall trying to blow people's minds.

Now, if that did not describe you and you consider yourself a mature teen who takes the craft serious, you will still have some hurdles to jump, but you will stand a much better chance than the aforementioned characters. Appearance is a huge selling point to adults. They don't want some dirty looking kid in ripped jeans and a black joker t-shirt to come up to them with a deck of cards. They just don't.

Yes, it is difficult for adults to actually assume or believe that someone in their teens could quite possibly fool them even though I know some of you could fry them with your sleights and skills.

Adults tend to think that you are going to show them some neat little effect you learned from "Uncle Joe" and try to make them look silly. You need to focus more on entertaining them and allowing them to enjoy the moment. Approaching the adults without getting turned down is over half of your battle because there are too many kids out there who are screw offs and have already ruined or "stereotyped" a lot of teens.

You younger guys can think what you want about me but when you get to be older you will see that it is a lot easier to gain attention or respect because you are not a threat to the audience.

O.k. just thought I'd add my two cents.
 
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